The detectives from the task force discuss the case before sending it to the D.A. (A few days after everything settles down.)
"So we got Kimball and Seavey for sure."
"Yup. Kimball copped to shooting Malloy and says that Seavey did Staples and Benny. It was a tag-team operation."
Asheby shook his head. "Interesting way of handling business."
"Very interesting." His partner agreed. "A.D.A. says they're both lookin' at Murder One for certain. Two counts for Seavey and one for Kimball, in addition to the assaulting an officer and all the other minor stuff tacked on to it."
"Twenty-five to life, possibility of parole after fifteen years served. Sounds very good to me," Asheby said, sitting back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head.
"You and me both."
"I'm glad it's over. Sittin' out there in a van with that Anti-Crime sergeant and her attitude was getting to be a real headache." Ramirez commented, joining the group.
Duncan shook his head. "Yeah, that's true. You gotta admit though, she's a damn fine piece of attitude."
The Narcotics officer laughed and replied, "For sure. What would it take to get that attitude alone and tamed?"
"A helluva lot more than you can offer."
The men gathered around the detectives' desks immediately fell silent and shifted uncomfortably under Cruz's irritated glare. She tapped the index finger of her right hand against the butt of her gun as she stood in the narrow hallway and let the awkward silence stretch on.
"It's good to see the cream of three units using their time so well. I'll have to mention it to Lieutenant Marsh when I see him later."
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Ramirez muttered, when Cruz had walked away. "That is a damn fine piece of attitude!"
"I heard that, Ramirez!"
A quiet chuckle from the other detectives accompanied Ramirez's blush. Jenkins, one of the other Anti-Crime officers, slapped the Narcotics officer's shoulder. "Don't sweat it, man. You get used to working with her after awhile."
"No kidding!"
"Anybody know what's happened to that cop who took out Morris? I haven't seen him around all that much lately." Lowell asked.
"Terminal leave, as of the day after he shot Morris for us." Asheby answered.
"The official word on O'Shea is that he is retiring from service. Twenty-five years is a long time for anybody to spend on the beat. If anybody runs into him out on the street, be sure to wish him well. He'll be missed around here." Brown from Anti-Crime added.
"Huh! Retiring! I guess the old geezer can't take getting knocked around anymore."
Duncan from Anti-Crime smacked Lowell in the back of the head with a newspaper he had quickly rolled up. "Shut up. What do you know about how much Andy O'Shea can take? He's been on the beat a helluva lot longer than any of us have, and he's taken more than his fair share of lumps out there. Leave the guy alone."
"What the hell's your problem?"
"I went through the Academy with him. He was one of the best we had on the street. I don't like hearing guys of his calibre get talked crap about by anybody who doesn't know squat."
"Aww, is the big bad Anti-Crime guy stickin' up for an old chum? How sweet," Johnson sneered playfully, artfully defusing the situation before it escalated. Duncan took a swing at him with the newspaper amid chuckles from the others.
"Back to business, gentlemen, to business," Wickes said. "I need your signatures on this release paper so I can finish the report."
Eachdetective stepped over to the desk to scribble his name on the last page.
"It's an airtight case we got, for once. They've rolled to what they done, and we got the evidence to prove it. It's like Christmas all over again." Johnson from Narcotics remarked, passing the pen back to Wickes.
"I'm curious about one thing, though. The whole time we were chasing down Morris, where was Mikey Boscorelli?"
Wickes shrugged, signing the cover letter of the final detective report. "Beats me. Maybe he got smart and headed someplace quieter."
"You think? There's a boatload of opportunity around town for a sharp young dealer. It makes more sense to me that he would keep a low profile until this mess went away. With the power vacuum that's been created with Morris' abrupt departure from the business, there's more than ample room for underlings to claw their way up the ladder."
"That much I doubt," Lowell from Narcotics said. "Latest rumour on the street suggests that there's a new boss already moved into Morris' place. The way the story goes, Morris knew he was gonna get jumped by his own people and figured letting the cops take him out would be a lot easier."
Asheby snorted. "And who's this new boss, then?"
"I don't know for sure. Mann, something, I think. It's written down somewhere." Lowell replied with a careless shrug. "What's it matter? We smacked the Dolphin ring pretty hard. I'd be surprised if they didn't just dissolve and go away like all the other drug rings do."
"We'll have to wait and see, I guess." Wickes tucked the completed report into a folder and set it aside. "I'm headin' over to Haggerty's, who's coming with me?"
The other detectives stood up with him. It was unanimous, as he had figured it would be. Wickes buttoned up his shirt and tightened his tie. Going out required a certain level of decorum.
Asheby was the last one out of the squad room and he took a final look at the closely-bunched desks that had been his unofficial home for the past two weeks.
"Until the next one." He said to the now-empty room, and turned off the lights.